Automatic poster-display machine.



W. H. WILLIAMS.

AUTOMATIC POSTER DISPLAY MACHINE.

APPLIUATION IILIED FEB. 21, 1910.

Patented June 13, 1911.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

W. E. WILLIAMS.- AUTOMATIC POSTER DISPLAY mommav W. E. WILLIAMS.AUTQMATIG POSTER DISPLAY MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED FEB. 21. 1910,994,811 Patented June 13,1911.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

' {Egg WILLIAM ERASIUS WILLIAMS, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

AUTOMATIC POSTER-DISPLAY MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed February 21, 1910.

Patented June 13, 1911.

Serial No. 545,076.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM ERASTUS WILLIAMS, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State ofIllinois, have invented a new and useful Improvement in AutomaticPoster-Display Machines, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to that class of machines in which a series offiexible sheets have one margin attached to a drum or reel and are allwound about the latter, their free portions falling in succession, bygravity, as the drum rotates, thereby exposing in suc cession the facesof all the sheets, which may be sheets forming merchandise, or samplesof merchandise, or may bear advertising or amusement matter.

The general object of the invention is to produce an unusually compact,simple, and inexpensive machine of this class and one capable ofhandling safely, whenever desired, large sheets of wholly unprepared,cheap poster paper, and this object is attained by devices illustratedin the accompanying drawings, in which,

Figure 1 is a front elevation of the machine with a poster exposed. Fig.2 is a right end elevation. Fig. 3 is a rear elevation of the parts ofthe machine. Fig. 4 is an enlarged detail of the driving mechanism.Figs. 5, 5*, 6 and Tare wind pipe details. Fig. 8 is a cross-sectionalelevation showing a modification in the location of the motor. Fig. 9 isa top plan. Fig. 10 is a detail showing the arrangement of the fasteningof the posters in the machine. Fig. 11" is a detail of a front view ofparts shown in Fig. 10. Fig. 12 is a detail side view of parts shown inFig. 10.

The machine involves the use of a reel adapted to hold correspondingmargins of many sheets parallel to the reels axis, a motor to rotate thereel and wind the free bodies of the several sheets about the same, andmeans for assisting gravity in unwind, ing the sheets successively when,in the rotation of the drum, each reaches a predetermined point.

In the figures, 1 represents flexible sheets each having one marginsecured to a reel consisting of disks 3 fixed upon a shaft 7 rotatablymounted in a casing frame 8 which is provided with lugs or cars .35 bywhich it may be suspended upon a wall or from a wall, and also with adetachable lower frame or legs 34, secured to the frame or casing aboveby screws 43 or the like, whereby the machine may stand upon anysuitable support instead of being suspended, should that be desired. Thecasing is normally closed above, at each end, and in the rear but openbelow, and in front except for a small section 40 at the upper side, andwhen the sheets are all wound and the apparatus is to be protected ortransported, a bottom 37 and a part 33, both hinged together and hingedto the rear of the casing at 39, Fig. 3, or near the rear of the casing,at 38, Fig. 8, are swung upward to close the lower side and theremainder of the front side, the section 33 in this case being securedto the section 40 by screws or the like. The casing is also, forconvenience, provided with a door 36 in its rear wall.

The reel disks are provided with equally spaced, wedge-like, radial,peripheral notches, 4, each to receive a pair of equal slats 2, ofcorrespondingly wedge-like cross section, between which is held, bypaste or otherwise, the margin of one of the sheets 1, the Width ofwhich is a little less than the length of the slats. The pairs of slatsfit in the notches in the disks and are held in place at each end bysprings 5 fixed to the disks and each having a free terminal loop 6adapted to be sprung over the corresponding ends of a pair of slats andhold them in their notch as seen in Fig. 10. The sheets are thus heldwith security although any one may be easily and quickly withdrawnwithout disturbing the others. The disks have flanges 44 alongside theirnotches so that a broad bearing for the slats may be had although thedisks are very thin and light, which is very desirable.

The reel is rotated in the direction of the arrow 10, winding all thesheets one upon the other, around the reel, by means of a worm gear 9,worm 11, shaft 12, gears 19, 20, shaft 21, worm wheel 24, and anelectric motor 22, shown in the primary form as mounted upon the top ofthe casing. The shaft 12 is mounted in hearings on an arm 13 pivoted at14 to the frame and held in position by a link 15 pivoted to the arm at16 and provided with a screw stud 17 projecting through the casing in aslot 18 which allows the link to be raised and pushed over to swing theworm out of engagement with its wheel, when it is desired to detach thereel from the motor quickly, leaving it free to be rotated for reachingany desired sheet. The motor shaft also drives a fan 26 in a casing 25and thus forces air through pipes 27, along the walls of the casing, tothe rear of the reel where it is upwardly and inwardly dischargedthrough nozzles 28, the delivered air instantly passing under the marginof each sheet, when, in the rotation of the reel, that margin passesabove the point of delivery, raising the sheet from its companions and'ently urging it around the reel. The sheet is thus freed fromfrictional engagement and gravity unwinds it and it falls to pendantposition much sooner than it otherwise would, or in other words eachsheet may be wound about an unusually large part of the reel and stillfall with entire certainty at the proper time. It follows that for asheet of given size the reel may be unusually small and thus the machinewill occupy less space than would ordinarily be required, which is ofgreat practical importance.

The pipes are provided with adjustable joints at 29 and are held byclips 31 and adjusting rods 32 resting against the casing. By this meansthe nozzles may be adjusted so near the reel as to serve as detents forthe free ends of the sheets; but it is obvious that this is only aconvenient detent mechanism, rather than an invariable one. The nozzlesare also vertically adjustable, the joints 30 (Fig. 5) being telescopic,so that the point in the reels revolution atwhich the sheets are freedand lifted may be varied.

The motor and fan may be placed at the bottom of the machine, as shownin Fig. 8, the shafts and pipes being rearranged in an obvious way.

A portion of the back of each sheet is exposed between 41 and 42, Figs.land 8, and this portion may bear a picture, advertising matter or thelike, so that practically the entire front is utilized.

It is obvious that the use of means other than an air blast for aidinggravity, and securing early dropping of the sheet with the possibilityof a smaller drum, is within my invention; and it is also clear that theapparatus may be used, without inventive changes for the display ofpictures, wall paper, maps, samples of textile or other suitable goods,rugs, and other merchandise; and further that the reel may be replacedby any other suitable form of carrier for the sheets.

What I claim is 1. In a machine of the class described, a reel or drumand means for fastening to it the ends of the poster sheets, means forrevolving the drum slowly and means for discharging a current of air atthe ends of the sheets as they are wound upon the drum to lift the sheetfrom the body of the drum and assist in its discharge or unwinding fromthe drum at a given point in the revolution of the drum or reel.

2'. In a machine of the class described, the combination of a drum orreel adapted to carry a number of sheets of posters which are fastenedat their ends to the periphery of the drum, means for revolving the drumand winding the sheets of the posters about the drum, with means forproducing a current of air and discharging it at the ends of the sheetsfor assisting in unwinding the sheets at a given position on the drum,and means for adjusting the position of the discharge of the air asdescribed.

3. In a machine of the class described, the combination of a reel ordrum to which sheets of posters are attached at their ends each sheetbeing independent of the others, means for revolving the drum slowly,means for discharging an air current on the sheets at their ends for thepurpose of separating the sheets as they are wound on the drum.

4-. In a machine of the class described, the combination of a reel ordrum to which sheets of posters are attached at their ends each sheetbeing independent of the others, means for revolving the drum slowly,means for producing and discharging an air current on the sheets attheir ends for the purpose of separating them at a given point as theyare wound on the drum, and for detaining the sheets from lifting orunwinding until the ends of the sheets have arrived at a given point ofthe drum.

5. The combination with a carrier adapted to carry sheets in an endlesspath about a horizontal axis, of a series of flexible sheets eachsecured at one margin to the carrier, means for moving the carrier aboutsuch axis, whereby the sheets wind in overlapped relation upon theascending side and tend to fall, by gravity, to pendant position uponthe opposite side, and means for injecting air beneath each outer woundsheet as its attached margin reaches a certain point upon the displayside of the axis whereby the sheet is caused to unwind and pass quicklyto face exposing position.

6. In a machine of the class described, the combination with a carrieradapted to carry, in an endless path about a horizontal axis, sheetseach secured by one margin to the carrier, means for actuating thecarrier, overlapping and winding the sheets upon each other in thatportion of their path lying upon one side of the vertical plane of saidaxis and allowing them to unwind and pass to vertical pendant positionupon the opposite side of such plane, and means for forcibly driving thesheets insuccession, as each reaches a given point in'the path alongwhich it is moved by the carrier, from overlapped position into suchpendant position, thus lessening the intervals between completeexposures of successive sheets.

7. In a machine of the class described, the combination of a carrierposters which are attached to the carrier at one end only, to hang belowthe carrier in display position, with a frame and inclosing partscomposed of two port-ions, the upper portion provided with inclosingwalls and the lower one of open frame Work, and the two portions capableof being detached for the purpose described.

In witness whereof I have hereunto signed my name on this 16th day ofFebruary, 1910, 15 in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

WILLIAM ERASTUS WILLIAMS. lVitnesses JOHN GRANT, C. A. RoPER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

